This blog is meant to provide insight into the Sacred Scriptures. Through it I will share what I have learned about God's Word through my personal prayer, academic studies, and other encounters with the Bible. My hope is to encourage you in your own faith journey through the Word. God Bless!

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Welcoming Others: Parish Bulletin--5-10-15

A very happy Mother’s Day to all
you Moms!None of us would be here
without a Mom and thank you for all you do (especially if you have a punk son
who is now a priest).

Also,
welcome and good luck to you fishermen on the opener.If you are reading this, you came to Mass on opening
weekend—praise God!You defy the
false reasoning (as did St. Peter) “I’d rather be fishing thinking about God
than in Church thinking about fishing.”(By the way, would anyone say this about a million dollars—“I’d rather
be fishing thinking about a million dollars than in a bank cashing out a
million dollars thinking about fishing”?)

Moving on…I would like to thank you
all for your efforts in welcoming people to our family of faith!For the past several of months, it
seems like every weekend there is a new person or family paying us a
visit.More than this, people
stopping by for worship are paying God
a visit!A smile, greeting,
introduction and offering to sit with newcomers goes a long way in making them
feel like part of our parish.

I
have heard many good reports from both parishioners and non-parishioners of our
efforts to grow as a welcoming community.This is what evangelism—sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ—is all
about.Keep up the great work.

One
of the simplest ways we show hospitality is by hosting coffee and donuts after
our 10:30 Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas (or the last weekend of the month at St.
Columban’s).I know, I know, I may
be obsessed about chocolate covered raised donuts, but bear with me!Stop and look around what goes on at
our post-Mass celebration of delectables—kids are happily running around after
a sugar spike, parents are talking, visitors are introduced—in short fellowship
occurs and our parish grows because of it.

Two
thoughts—summer is coming up and I would like to see such fellowship continue
after 10:30 Mass, especially as we will have many visitors to welcome and
host.I realize it’s vacation season,
but if you could commit to a weekend or two to serve coffee and donuts during
the summer months we would all appreciate it!(By way of reminder, hosting is easy…it will take about ten
minutes of your time and provide hundreds of smiles and satiated stomachs).Please call the office or stop by to
pick a date and receive instructions.

Second—keep
introducing yourselves to people you don’t know in these opportunities of
fellowship—this includes both visitors and the regulars.The reality is, most of our weekend
attendees don’t know everyone at Church.While it may be awkward to introduce someone you’ve seen at Mass for
years, keep building connections with parishioners and guests alike.

Evangelism,
hospitality and welcoming go hand-in-hand-in-hand.Keep inviting people to come to Mass and reach out to them
when they arrive!

About Me

Hello. My name is Fr. Ben Hadrich. I received the greatest gift of my life on June 22nd, 2012--being ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. I absolutely love being a priest. It was what I was made to do and I have never experienced as much peace and joy since having been ordained.